Gaming News

The 10 Best SNES Games – Part Two

Published

3 years ago

December 31, 2020

Here’s the second part of our list of the 10 best SNES games for Nintendo. Part one left off with Final Fantasy at number six. We’ve collated some of the biggest reviews of these games and looked at their average scores. This is the result.

A reminder of the rules

In this list, a game’s average launch reviews and a dash of opinion will be considered. If your favourite doesn’t make the list there’s a good chance it was considered. The SNES library has another 10 to 15 stand out titles that missed out. Release dates may appear as a range of years due to different release dates across regions.

Here’s part two of our list of the Top 10 SNES games of all time.

5. Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting

Released – 1993

Developer – Capcom

Publisher – Capcom

Copies Sold – 4.1M

Average Review Score – 94.9%

Street Fighter 2 Turbo is the third version of Capcom’s smash hit Street Fighter 2. Capcom’s fighting powerhouse saw countless competitor series and some pale imitators. The fighting game craze of the early 1990s had begun.

Turbo is a fantastic port of the arcade game. Turbo sped the gameplay up making the battles faster than ever. The button presses for combos needing to be more precise than ever to pull off the big moves. This made for frantic fun gameplay and they didn’t stop their characters such as Guile gained new moves.

Turbo also sees the debut of the overpowered Akuma. He appears and beats M.Bison to a pulp replacing him as the final boss. Akuma appears if the player has met certain criteria during their play through.

Japanese magazine Famitsu known for its critical scoring gave the game 36 out of 40. EGM also named Turbo as the best Super Nintendo Game of 1993.

The game shines in two-player mode and gave kids everywhere bragging rights over who could beat all their mates.

4. Super Mario World

Released – 1990/92

Developer – Nintendo EAD

Publisher – Nintendo

Copies Sold – 20.61M (Bundled With System)

Average Review Score – 91.8%

How do you top Super Mario Bros 3 and make an amazing launch game? Simple, Super Mario World!

Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto had the Midas touch with our favourite plumber.

Computer and Video Games Magazine (CVG) loved it giving Super Mario World 96%. “The gameplay is so addictive; you’d better be prepared to stay stuck to your screens until you’ve completed it! Omit, a totally fantastic game”

The game was massive on release featuring 96 different levels. Power-ups and new gameplay mechanics, allowing the player to float through levels (if you could keep Mario airborne).

Nintendo also debuted Yoshi the Dinosaur. Yoshi can eat enemies and gain abilities from eating the shells of Bowser’s Koopa Troopers.

Super Mario World sold over 20 million units becoming the bestselling game on the Super Nintendo. It’s worth noting most copies came bundled with the system, not to take away from the sheer number sold. Super Mario World arrived at the right time to take the console wars battle to that pesky hedgehog and his blast processing.

The gameplay and art style in Super Mario World make it still a great looking game to play today. It’s firmly one of Nintendo’s all-time classics.

3. Chrono Trigger

Released – 1995 (PAL Unreleased)

Developer – Square

Publisher – Square

Copies Sold – 2.31M

Average Review Score 90.7%

The second game on this list Europe missed out on. Square was at their absolute best when they made Chrono Trigger. Some people call it one of the best games of all time and it’s easy to see why it’s held in such high regard. Next Generation Magazine awarded it a four out of five, stating “it easily qualifies as one of the best RPGs ever made”

In this JRPG an experiment leads to discovering an apocalyptic event in the far future. Crono and a cast of characters from across time join forces to try and prevent a dystopian future.

Final Fantasy’s combat system is once again used, though what sets this game apart is its lack of random encounters. All enemies are visible when traversing areas and dungeons. Characters can combine for dual and triple attacks (techs) to unleash massive damage on opponents.

The story isn’t complex, yet draws you in. Square excelled at creating characters people genuinely wanted to see succeed. Chrono Trigger has you recruit, among others, a robot a cavewoman and even a sword-wielding frog. Who has one of the most compelling and tragic backstories of any character in a Super Nintendo game.

Chrono Trigger is a fantastic game and even if you’re not usually an RPG person, you will be after playing it.

2. The Legend of Zelda A Link to The Past

Released – 1991/92

Developer – Nintendo EAD

Publisher – Nintendo

Copies Sold – 4.6M

Average Review Score – 93.5%

A Link to the Past returned to the top-down gameplay of the original Legend of Zelda. The side-scrolling from The Adventure of Link is gone.

Critically acclaimed upon release Nintendo Magazine System reviewers gave the game a 96%. An EGM Reviewer was stunned starting his review with “Wow! This is the closest a game has ever gotten to a perfect 10”. Famitsu even gave A Link to the past a near-perfect 39 out of 40. Making it one of the highest-ranked games they had ever reviewed at that point.

A Link to the Past sees Link on a quest to save Hyrule from the evil Ganon. The Master Sword and parallel universes would also be introduced for the first time. The gameplay and variety of dungeons are excellent and has also aged well over time. (It’s like Nintendo have perfected an anti-aging formula).

The music like most of Nintendo’s first-party games is excellent with the over world theme being instantly recognisable. Like Final Fantasy VI, A Link to Past has had its soundtrack performed by orchestras.

A Link to the Past is one of Nintendo’s finest games and was considered for the top spot on this list. It was beaten to the post by one other game. It’s a must-play on the Super Nintendo and accessible via the Switch Online.

1. Super Metroid

Released – 1994

Developer – Nintendo R&D1/Intelligent Systems

Publisher – Nintendo

Copies Solid – 1.42M

Average Review Score – 91.1%

The foreboding atmosphere and the sense of isolation. The game’s creator Yoshio Sakamoto said “We had a strong desire to make something that people would compare to a movie”. He created something so much more.

Super Metroid is the third in the series. This time Samus Aran must stop Ridley and the Space Pirates from harnessing the power of a young Metroid.

The Metroid series awards players for their exploration with power-ups hidden all over the planet Zebes. You’re free to roam throughout, with every new ability gained allowing Samus access to new areas.

A big improvement is the inclusion of an in game map. In the first two Metroid games players had to rely on printed maps that came with magazines. Nintendo Power would publish extended features containing maps to help struggling players.

EGM named Super Metroid the best action game of 1994 and in 2003 they named Super Metroid as the best game of all time. Super Play Magazine would call Super Metroid “more of an experience than a game”.

The music, the setting, and the graphics make Super Metroid rather special. The game along with several other SNES games has aged amazingly well over time. The music gives an amazing sense of suspense and isolation to the world you’re exploring, full of creatures and massive memorable boss encounters.

Super Metroid is one of the best action-adventure style games ever made and it tops our list. The term “Metroidvania” is now used to describe games of a similar play style. It might only be a 16-bit game but play all the way through to the end for an ending you’ll never forget.

The verdict

Putting this list together wasn’t easy. There was a short list of over twenty games to consider the standard was that high. Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario Kart, Earthbound and Super Mario RPG are a handful that didn’t make the list.

Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda A Link to The Past and Chrono Trigger were all placed close at the top of this list. All have received accolades and are talked about as not just some of the best games on the SNES, but as some of the best games of all time. Making them worthy of their places on this list.

And that’s the final part of our list of the 10 best SNES games, did we miss any? Do you agree with the order? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.

Read part one of our list of the 10 best SNES games HERE.

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Gaming News

Animal Crossing 2.0 – Review

Published

2 years ago

December 7, 2021

Victoria Newell

On November 5th, Animal Crossing 2.0 alongside the DLC Happy Home Paradise was released. It was the last major free update to hit the latest game in the franchise and added a host of new features to the game. After almost a month of playing it, here’s our review and everything new in Animal Crossing 2.0 from Nintendo.

Background

Animal Crossing has been around for 20 years, with its first release on 14th April 2001. Since then it’s released several versions of the game for the DS, Wii, and so on.

The latest version, New Horizons, came to the Nintendo Switch at just the right time; at the very beginning of Quarantine. It was easily the most popular Nintendo game last year. But it had a fatal flaw; rather than including everything upfront, Nintendo would release periodic updates where they would add to the game. The goal was to keep the game feeling fresh, but the result was that New Horizons felt unfinished. The game was bare-bones compared to past versions of Animal Crossing and didn’t have half as much to do. With the release of the last free update, New Horizons finally feels like a complete game. So what’s new? While there were a lot of things added and small things fixed, we’re just going to focus on the major gameplay changes and additions.

Brewster

The beloved pigeon, Brewster, has been in Animal Crossing since 2005. He runs a cosy coffee shop, The Roost, usually located in the Museum. But he has been missing from New Horizons. A fan favourite, his absence has definitely been felt. Brewster is one of the most demanded additions to New Horizons. With the update, you can find him gyroid hunting on one of Kapp’n’s Islands and invite him to your island, where he will set up the Roost once more. You will also find some of your residents and NPCs there and can invite current and past Animal Crossing characters to the Roost via Amiibo card.

Kapp’n

Speaking of Kapp’n, the turtle is back. In past versions of the game, Kapp’n is usually the one taking you to your new village at the start of every game. Whether it be by taxi, bus, or train, Animal Crossing typically kicks off with the retired seafarer. But New Horizons didn’t feature Kapp’n at all; until now. Now you can have him take you on island tours via his little boat off your dock. Some of these islands are extremely rare and feature exclusive items. He also sings you a little song while you make the journey..

Gyroids

Gyroids have, once again, been a part of every Animal Crossing game until New Horizons. They are little singing things that can be placed like furniture. In New Horizons, you can find a fragment on Kapp’n’s islands, bury it, water it, and a gyroid will grow the next day. Or some may be buried on your island after a rainy day. While past versions of gyroids have been annoying, the New Horizon’s gyroids are adorable and delightful. In New Horizons, Brewster is an avid collector. You’ll even get a Brewster gyroid after drinking enough coffee.

Cooking / Farming

Cooking has also been added to the game, something entirely unique to New Horizons. You can purchase crop starts from Leif, start a farm, and then cook the produce you grow. This opens up a whole host of fun recipes, and you can gift your creations to your residents. Eating a meal will make your villager stronger for longer, the same effect eating fruit previously had.

Group Stretching

You can also host a group stretching event in the plaza. Random villagers and NPCs will join you. You can use your controllers to actually stretch with them, or use the joysticks if you’re stuck with a Lite or don’t feel like standing up.

Harv’s Island

Harv’s Island was previously… pretty useless. There was really nothing to do there aside from taking pictures, which is fun once. Now you can help him build an open-air Farmers Market/Commune. For 100,000 bells each, you can invite NPCs to set up a permanent shop. Among these are Leif, Redd, Kicks, Saharah, Reese, and Cyrus, who have all been seen in New Horizons. But it also introduces the return of Tortimer, the mayor from past games. (Who some fans theorized was dead until now). Harriet, a hairdresser who introduces a ton of new hairstyles to the game. And the fortune-teller Katrina. This expansion to Harv’s island is a huge resource.

You no longer have to wait for these NPCs to come to your island to purchase goods from them. It also opens up more customization for previously uncustomisable items. And it’s another goal to work towards after you pay off your home loans.

Ordinances

You can now issue Ordinances through Isabelle in the town hall. These include things like adding a Bell Boom so that you find more bells and goods are worth more, but things also cost more. Or the Beautiful Island ordinance, which will have your villagers pick up weeds and trash and will cause your flowers to grow faster. You can also issue that your villagers wake up earlier or go to bed later.

Happy Home Paradise

In addition to 2.0, a DLC was added to the Nintendo Store. Happy Home Paradise allows you to “get a job” building vacation homes. You report to your boss Lottie for work, alongside your coworkers Niko and Wardell. From there, you choose a character and build a home for them. They will give you a theme and some items they want to see in their home. You can also design facilities, like a cafe or school and assign characters to work in them. Using an amiibo card, you can also design homes for NPCs like Isabelle or Tom Nook, where you will have free reign over the design.

Happy Home Paradise also introduces partition walls which allow for more design options in your house. It also includes a lot of new furniture. When you’ve designed enough vacation homes, you are able to then redesign the houses on your island.

HHP adds a lot to the game. Animal Crossing’s flaw has always been that it gets too repetitive. HHP adds some flavour and a lot more to do. So even long after you’ve paid off your home loan and made your island pretty, you can still really engage with the game. It adds to and boosts life on the island, but also extends the world a bit. You can interact with more characters beyond just your residents and have more interaction with NPCs beyond purchasing goods from them.

Overall

All in all, the 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise have elevated New Horizons. It makes the game feel new and adds what many fans have been asking for. While they are both great, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this all should have been included from the get-go like past versions of the game. After playing a skeleton of a game for a year, we now truly have a new Animal Crossing game.

Do you like Animal Crossing 2.0? Do you agree with our Animal Crossing review? Let us know in the comments below.

We compare Animal Crossing with Stardew Valley HERE.